Review of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) by Harry W — 05 Jun 2015

Though Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was a step down for the series, I always remembered Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade as being a great finale for the trilogy and jumped at the chance to look back on it again.

With the film intro depicting beautiful shots of the Utah landscape, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade immediately establishes that it is going back to the roots of Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark by adopting a Western visual style which is very reminiscent of countless works by John Ford. This intro serves as an effective background piece for characterizing Indiana Jones before it changes. The story in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade steps it up since the last film by going back to the roots of exploring religious mythology in the context of a fun adventure film, exploring its themes with creativity and better characterization. The adventure this time sees Indiana Jones teamed up with his father who is able to bring both emotional value to the story and comedic value which is beyond the juvenile nature of its predecessor while also transcending the overdone damsel in distress trope which has already been explored twice in the series and was worn to death by Wilhelmina "Willie" Scott's incessant ramblings in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The dark themes of that film are replaced by a more big scale adventure which is surprisingly ripe with grit this time around.

Many scenes in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade depict the series going in a different angle, in particular the notable boat chase scene. While certain moments in this still mirror scenes from Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, it adopts a more contemporary spy thriller concept reminiscent of James Bond, ensuring that exhilarating action is brought into play in a manner new to the series and appealing to modern audiences. However, the key focus eventually proves itself to be a more war-themed concept. The return of Nazis to the film does not seem repetitive as this time the film takes an approach more familiar of John Sturges' 1963 war epic The Great Escape all while maintaining the same adventure serial theme, and later on it even goes along the angles of Howard Hughes' 1930 war blockbuster Hell's Angels. The debt that Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade owes to great war films is explored with exceptional action sequences on an all new scale for the series. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade has the most technologically impressive action of the trilogy. The stunts in the film are exceptionally impressive in terms of creativity and genuine technical value, as well as the fact that they are extremely intense which benefits the atmosphere greatly. Yet at the same time, they integrate humour into the experience very nicely. As well as being high quality, the general quantity of action in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is at a new level of impressive for the series. The production values of the film in general are excellent due to the western scenery as well as the timely props and costumes, as well as the impressive visual and sound effects. Everything is captured with beautifully atmospheric cinematography as well, and the musical score is once again brilliant. While maintaining the same lighthearted charm and iconic theme song of the preceding Indiana Jones films, the musical score in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade raises the scale of things and grasps its war themes incredibly well which brings a firm level of raw grit to the feature. John Williams deservedly reaches three for three with Academy Award nominations for his work on the Indiana Jones films.

And the cast of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade prove once again brilliant.

Harrison Ford brings his charismatic adventure spirit back to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and nails the character brilliantly once again. By this point in the series there is not too much new he can bring to the character, and yet the screenwriters find a way to ensure he does just that. The result ends up being an exploration of Harrison Ford's comedic charisma as he maintains the same cheesy yet legitimate heroism of the character while expanding upon his comedic value significantly more. This comes predominantly from his chemistry with Sean Connery which shows him working with the Academy Award winning actor very impressively. Harrison Ford's iconic charm pays a lot of benefit to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade by letting him carry the film on his shoulders once again. He is as strong as ever, and his determined involvement in the high calibre action scenes show his consistent physical strength as an adventure hero. Yet they do not play second fiddle to his natural acting charms as he once again gets every inch of the character well enough to transcend the archetype of a cheesy serial adventure hero, all while playing to his debt to such a character honourably.

Sean Connery is also a brilliant newcomer. As the father of Indiana Jones, Sean Connery's main value in the story is to make the tale more compelling and provide comic relief at the same time which he does with incredible ease. The man's natural charm draws viewers in, and the way that he works with Harrison Ford is just hilarious due to the father-son banter of the film. Sean Connery is at some of his all time funniest in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade because he serves as the comic relief and nails that with natural ease and charm, all while delivering his lines with an instinctive sense of wisdom to pay effect to the character very well.

Julian Glover's role as Walter Donovan is also powerful. Although his part is brief, Julian Glover is easily able to go between being a seemingly friendly man and a relentlessly imtimidating villain. The transition is most unexpected and dramatically powerful, and the way that Julian Glover deals his words so tenaciously proves rather intimidating at times. He proves his strength in the dramatic aspects of the story as it progresses and we see more sides to the character, and Julian Glover keeps up with the progressing narrative of the story with a consistent sense of manipulative sadism buried within the role.

Alison Doody makes a memorable appearance as well. As the damsel in distress trope has been exhausted by the preceding Indiana Jones films, Alison Doody has to take a new perspective on the female lead of this Indiana Jones adventure. The perspective proves to be a tricky one with unpredictable twists and turns where she consistently proves herself capable of making a consistent impression from both a comedic and dramatic perspective. Alison Doody proves herself a capable foil in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade by delivering a performance which stands out as strong enough not to be compared to Karen Allen or Kate Capshaw.

Lastly, River Phoenix's brief appearance is also very memorable. The way that River Phoenix captures the fearless dedication of Harrison Ford makes him a perfect embodiment of a younger Indiana Jones. He mimics the firm physical style of the character while putting his own charming spin on the role. River Phoenix is a perfect fit for the role, and his cameo is a clear signifier of his potential as a blockbuster star in a career which was cut tragically short. It is just great that we got to see him give it a shot for once in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade though.

So Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade proves to be a brilliant sequel and excellent finale to the trilogy, bringing back the western theme from the beginning and integrating war themes in with top production values, exceptional action and an awesome cast.